The Strokes

"Under Cover of Darkness"

The Strokes have been absent since 2006, but “Under Cover of Darkness,” the lead single from the band’s upcoming LP Angles, would convince you they never really left.

A sonic blend of their previous albums, “Darkness” features the jangly garage-rock-pop rhythms of Is This It and Room On Fire combined with the cleaner production values of First Impressions of Earth. Singer Julian Casablancas – who reportedly recorded his vocal tracks separate from the rest of the band—isn’t as distorted in the mix as once was common, but it’s unmistakably a Strokes song through-and-through. When he croons that everyone in town has been singing the same song for ten years, it’s more than just a clever nod to “Last Nite”: they’re well aware that the song remains their calling card ten years later, and they’re here to make up for lost time.

Anchored by a ridiculously catchy chorus, it’s true that “Under Cover of Darkness” lacks the fresh impact of the band’s early singles—and isn’t quite as shocking a departure in sound as the ambitious “You Only Live Once” was five years ago—but it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a solid Strokes tune. And after such a long hiatus, fueled by rumors of internal strife amongst bandmembers and scrapped recording sessions, it’s also a lot better than many people might have been expecting it to be.